Posts Tagged ‘cake’

One of the more popular brunch places in the East has got to be Penny University. It was a pretty small cafe though, which probably explained for the long waiting list.

Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon

For $12, the Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon was definitely worth every penny! There was a decent serving of poached eggs and smoked salmon, atop the sourdough toasts. The homemade hollandaise sauce was smooth, rich and slightly buttery. The poached eggs were bit undercooked though, with the egg whites a tad too raw. The smoked salmon wasn’t too salty. The thin slices easily disintegrated in our mouths. The sourdough toasts were fluffy, not too starchy or heavy. Due to the thin layer of jam, it was more towards being sweet than sour.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

The Flourless Chocolate Cake ($8.50) was very dense and packed full of chocolately goodness. The crust was very crumbly and generously dusted and covered with cocoa powder. The chocolate cake was akin to a slab of chocolate fudge. Decadent, smooth and bitter sweet chocolate to satisfy the chocoholics in us.

After months of anticipation, Pasar Bella has finally opened at The Grandstand! Spanning a total indoor area of around 30000 square feet, with more than 30 permanent and weekend traders, Pasar Bella is Singapore’s answer to the concept of farmers’ market found commonly in Europe and USA.

The most important to remember before heading to Pasar Bella is to go with an empty stomach, as 90% of the stalls sells food, drinks or fresh produce.

Le Patio

Le Patio

Nutella Crepe

We were enticed by the enormous tube of Nutella on the counters of Le Patio and promptly ordered the Nutella Crepe ($3.50). We were slightly disappointed with the crepe. The crepe itself was bland and seemingly just a doughy mixture. The Nutella wasn’t sufficient enough to satisfy us. On the whole, the Nutella crepe was pretty amateurish and underwhelming.

Nibbles by Rabbit Carrot Gun

Scone

Our next stop was Nibbles by Rabbit Carrot Gun. Touted to be the stall that sells authentic British snacks, Nibbles sells quiches, pies, cakes and most importantly, scones! Priced at $4.50 each, the scone was pretty expensive. Unfortunately, the standard didn’t match up to the price. The scone was tasteless, floury and lacking in aroma. The inner core was clumpy and a little damp – making the scone pretty heavy and hard to swallow.

Huber’s Deli

Huber’s Deli

Chicken Cheese

Perhaps one of the more popular stalls was Huber’s Deli, evident from the number of people carrying the Huber’s Deli takeaway boxes. Coupled with the fact that Huber Deli’s hotdogs were grilled on the spot, it is no wonder many visitors were enthralled by the aroma and looks of the hotdogs. We ordered the Chicken Cheese ($7.80), with pickles, gruyere cheese, parsley, spices and sauce. The cheese was slightly charred; though the cheese wasn’t particularly salty or strong in flavours, the spices atop the cheese did add some extra flavour to it. We felt that the cheese could have been a little more melted, which would then provide this extra gooeyness. There was also cheese inside the hotdog, which was like the extra burst of surprise. The hotdog was, as usual, of high standards from Huber’s Deli. Authentically meaty and juicy! In addition, the bread had been toasted and hence exuded a fragrance crisp. Thankfully, Huber’s Deli didn’t disappoint!

Dutch Colony Coffee Co.

Seasalt Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

Our final conquer of the day was the Seasalt Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake ($5.50) from Frootkeyk, which is sold at the Dutch Colony Coffee Co. We especially enjoyed the peanut butter as it provided that salty, nutty fragrance to the cake. The peanut butter also increased the moistness of the cake. The combination of peanut butter and chocolate can never go wrong.

Speaking about muffins, the most popular and well-loved flavour has got to be banana muffin. Together with walnuts and chocolate, that’s probably one of the best muffins around. The banana slices embedded in the muffin acts as the source of moisture, the walnuts provide the crunchiness and finally the semi-melted chocolate chunks give that additional sweetness, gooeyness and surprise in the muffin. With these 3 essential components, The Muffinry’s Banana Walnut Chocolate Muffin can never go wrong.

And for those with a petite appetite or just an itch of a small sweet bite, there’s always the Mini Chocolate Fudge Cake to satisfy your cravings. For chocolate lovers like us, it wasn’t sufficient to allow us to savour and appreciate the chocolate fudge cake. From that small bite, we could only conclude that the chocolate fudge cake was a tad too hard and brittle and the chocolate taste was mediocre.

A chocolately meal at Sophie Bakery was marked by a slice of Chocolate Cake and a cup of Hot Dark Chocolate. The Chocolate Cake consisted of layers of chocolate sponge, sandwiching chocolate cream and coated with chocolate ganache. Texture wise, we enjoyed the moist and soft chocolate sponge. It wasn’t dry nor crumbly, and complemented the harder chocolate ganache. The chocolate taste was evident, not overwhelmingly rich, but was rather sweet. Overall, the Chocolate Cake was simple and decent, though not fantastic.

The Hot Dark Chocolate was a tad disappointing as it lacked the richness and viscosity that we were looking for. Though supposedly to be dark chocolate, the level of sweetness seemed to be on par with milk chocolate.

Located deep in the lush greenery in the deep ends of Bukit Timah is Rider’s Cafe.

Death by Chocolate Cake

The Death by Chocolate Cake could not have a better name. We were blown away when the cake was placed in front of us. The generous and overwhelming serving of thick chocolate sauce made the entire cake moist and chocolately. The sponge portions were dense and rich. There were also layers of fudge covering the sponge. The fudge was sticky and gooey, full of chocolate goodness. Taste wise, the cake wasn’t overly sweet, retaining a slightly bitter sweetness. As the vanilla ice cream melted into the bed of chocolate sauce, every mouthful of cake was really death by chocolate.

Not satisfied with the small sample we tried previously, we went ahead to get a 6 inch whole Original cake ($29). This unpretentious, simple looking chocolate cake speaks of substance and quality. The cake was more like a truffle, with layers of fudge and sponge. The sponge was a little on the dry side, but the rich fudge compensated for the spongy portions. Taste wise, the sweetness was on the subtle mild side, allowing the taste of decadent chocolate to shine.

To celebrate Easter, Laurent Bernard Chocolatier is introducing a Chocolate Menu Set, made available from 15th March to 10th April. This $50 three course meal pushes the creative culinary boundaries and infuses chocolate into savoury delights. We were invited for a food tasting sessions, complimentary of the owner/chocolate artisan Laurent Bernard and his hospitable crew.

Owner/Chocolate Artisan Laurent Bernard

Owner/Chocolate Artisan Laurent Bernard took time off to explain the origin of his artisan chocolates and educate us on the way to differentiate good praline and ganache from ordinary ones. Laurent Bernard Chocolatier emphasizes on the use of only the best quality produce, mostly imported from France, which explains why some of the chocolates and ice cream flavours here are seasonal and produced only in small batches.

Seared Scallop with Cocoa Nibs, Fennel Foam

The three course meal kicked start with the appetizer – Seared Scallop with Cocoa Nibs, Fennel Foam. The scallops were slightly smaller than expected, but nevertheless fresh and seared to perfection with a chewy mouthful texture. The cocoa and pistachio bits sprinkled on top of the scallops exuded a bitter, nutty fragrance and complemented the seared scallop very well. The foam tasted like vigorously beaten hot chocolate or milo which had transformed into a bubbly airy form. This appetizer is best consumed fast before the foam loses its form and becomes a soupy sauce.

Peruvian Chicken

Peruvian Chicken – Chicken thigh in a chocolate mole sauce, served with mashed potatoes and French beans. There is a Mexican take to this dish with the use of the mole sauce. The mole sauce was very chunky and thick, likened to a concentrated red bean paste. The infusion of chocolate added some bitter sweetness to the tangy bean paste. The mole sauce also left a mild spicy aftertaste. The complex flavours of the mole sauce were well coordinated and it went especially well with the smooth mashed potatoes which was light with no suggestion of butter or salt. Chicken thigh was used in this dish. It had either been grilled or oven baked to give the skin with a slight crisp. The juices were retained within the chicken meat and it was very tender. The flavours from the spices added during the preparation process were locked within the chicken meat, making them tasty on their own even without the mole sauce. We were very pleased with the generous and satisfying serving of Peruvian Chicken presented to us. Also available as a main course is the Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Cocoa Orange Sauce.

Banana and Chocolate Cake

Banana and Chocolate Cake – The name sounds simple and straightforward, but on first glance and subsequent tasting, we knew that there was much greater depth in this dessert. The layers are as follows – starting with a meringue sponge based, hazelnut feuilletine, caramelized bananas with passion fruit juice, ginger flavoured whipped ganache and finished with a top glaze made up of milk chocolate with chopped nuts. The meringue gave the sponge base an added airiness and crunch. It felt like a macaroon base. The hazelnut feuilletine was made from scratch in house. The sour passion fruit juice, though not obvious to the taste buds, had been added to soften the sweetness of the caramelized bananas. The whipped ganache tasted much softer, smoother and had a melt in the mouth texture. The ginger flavours were not apparent though. Coupled with the layer of milk chocolate, these two layers formed the bulk of the chocolate flavours, which we wished could have been stronger. Nevertheless, we were very satisfied with this sinful, heavenly chocolate treat, which spelled of a gradual transition of texture from the soft and smooth chocolate layers, chunky and mouthful caramelized bananas, crunchy and crispy feuilletine to the airy meringue sponge base. If only some peanut butter saltiness could be added to the feuilletine layer, it would complete the spectrum of flavours. The banana chocolate cake and chocolate tart would definitely keep us going back to Laurent for a good chocolatey treat.

Laurent Bernard Chocolates

Laurent Bernard Chocolates

Laurent Bernard Chocolatier generously offered each of us a door gift of his very own artisan creation. Each piece of praline had a slightly harder chocolate coating followed by ganache which tasted smooth in the mouth. These fine sweet treats left a long lasting cocoa taste.

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We do not aim to promote or discredit any restaurants/food places. This blog is solely an avenue to voice our personal and humble opinions of our food escapades. In no way can any content from our blog be used without our consent.